"Good. I'm glad you were able to come along with me on this trip. I haven't felt so relaxed since we came over from the States. I slept ten hours last night; can you believe it?"

"Yes, sir, I can. You look good."

He did. The bags under his eyes didn't look as dark as they had back in Algiers, where he had been running a war while organizing a visit by a president and a prime minister. I craned my neck to find out who was in the room but couldn't see around the corner. I never called him Uncle Ike in front of anyone else, and I didn't think we were alone now, so I held back. He seemed to read my thoughts as he lowered his voice.

"Thanks, William. You deserve more rest yourself, but something's come up." He dug a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket and lit up, glancing toward the room as he did so. "I'm afraid you're going to have to cut this trip short. Do you remember Major Cosgrove?"

I remembered. Major Charles Cosgrove, supposedly a representative of the British Imperial General Staff. In reality, he worked for MI-5, their counterintelligence and security division. We'd met when I first came to England, and he tried to use me in his intelligence games. I hadn't liked him then, and he didn't take to me. I doubted he'd changed much. I had-plenty-but it only served to make me more suspicious of him than I had been before.

"Sure, General. Swell guy."

"I know you two didn't get along during that affair with the Norwegians, William. But this time he's come to ask you for a favor, and it might be one you won't mind doing."

"It sounds like I'm going to be working for him, General."

"William, don't make it sound like a prison sentence. Remember, we're all on the same side, even though at times it may seem more trouble than it's worth."

He smiled, letting me know he understood and that he had his own English cross to bear.